1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved set of cables, commonly referred to as jumper cables, for interconnecting a charging battery to a discharged battery. More particularly, the invention relates to a set of jumper cables that automatically insures the polarity of the connection is proper (i.e. positive terminal to positive terminal and negative to negative) and automatically prevents arcing during connection and disconnection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Jumper cables are most often used to provide a charging current to a discharged car battery from another car battery. Often this operation is performed under conditions of stress and by persons with little or no experience. There are two primary problems in interconnecting two batteries with jumper cables. One is to make sure the polarity of the interconnected terminals is the same; that is, positive to positive and negative to negative. The other problem is arcing when the jumper cables are connected to or disconnected from battery terminals or when one end of the jumper cables is accidentally shorted after the other end has been connected.
Over a long period of years, there have been many proposals in the prior art attempting to solve one or the other of these problems associated with the use of jumper cables. However, these proposals have not proved to be altogether satisfactory because to solve both problems the prior art proposals require some user intervention. This means, in general, the user had to know how to take action, and/or when to take it. With the prior art proposals, if the user fails to properly follow the operating instructions, the cables either will not work or could be the cause of property damage or personal injury or both.